Chinese app developers have take over Indian app ecosystem

The world’s second-largest country based on population — India. The message is clear for the Chinese “if you want growth, conquer India, and that’s exactly what has happened in the world of consumer apps.

2018 is likely to be remembered as the year when the Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Oppo, took over Indian smartphones industry. Just next to it Chinese app developers have invaded India. According to a report from FactorDaily.

The top 10 applications on Google Playstore seems a lot of difference than what they are after a year. The Playstore rankings for India in 2018 have China written all over it. Five out of the top 10 mobile apps in India are Chinese vhere it was two at the end of 2017.

In December 2017, there were 18 Chinese apps among the top 100 across various categories on Google Playstore. Fast forward to the end of 2018. The number of Chinese apps in the top 100 Playstore apps has reached 44. Beyond the top 100, there are others like Rozbuzz, a social entertainment content platform, and YouStar, a video chat room platform, that enjoy a more than one million downloads in India.The list of top Chinese apps includes major names like ByteDance, the world’s highest-valued startup, which offers TikTok and local language news app Helo in India, and Alibaba’s UCbrowser, as well as lesser-known quantities like Tencent-backed NewsDog and quiet-yet-prolific streaming app maker Bigo.

Sensor Tower, report found that five of the top 10 Android apps in India are from China, up from just two at the end of 2017.

Two biggest Chinese companies, Alibaba and Tencent, have poured significant amounts into promising Indian startups in past few years, and settled the platform for others to follow suit and move into India in search of growth.

In 2015 Chaine’s tech giant Alibaba group bought into Snapdeal and Paytm via multi-hundred-million-dollar of investments and the pace has only quickened since then. Where In 2017, Tencent invested in Gaana (music streaming) and Swiggy (food delivery) in major deals, having backed Byju’s (education) and Ola (ride-hailing) the year prior. The pair also launched local cloud computing services inside India last year.

Whith both of them, Xiaomi has gone beyond selling phones to back local companies and develop local services for its customers in India.

Several Chinese apps have become significantly popular over the last year in India: social content platforms such as Helo and SHAREit; entertainment and engagement apps such as TikTok, LIKE, and Kwai; video and live streaming ones such as LiveMe, Bigo Live, and Vigo Video; utility apps such as BeautyPlus, Xender and Cam Scanner; gaming leaders such as PUBG, Clash of Kings, and Mobile Legends; not to forget popular e-commerce apps including ClubFactory, SHEIN, and ROMWE.

Though the content on Chinese applications remain a matter of controversy among the Indian technology and startup circles, there has also been an increasing reverence towards the experience of some of the Chinese platforms.

That local approach appears to have been the secret for those app makers which have found success in India.

If Indian apps developers can make good learnings from the Chinese invading their land, it may stem the hollowing out of the Indian app ecosystem.